A. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for content distribution via electronic communications networks. More specifically, the present invention is a system and method for controlling content rendering on a content page whereby content is rendered only when and to the extent that a predefined area of the content page, which can be the content page area where such content is to be rendered, is within (or within a predefined distance from) the viewer's browser screen dimensions and scrolling position.
B. Background
Internet web page content delivery typically involves a content viewer's use of a browser application that is installed in the viewer's computer which connects to the Internet, and through hypertext transfer protocol or “http” requests web pages from content servers. These web pages are generally written in Hyper Text Markup Language or “HTML.” When a content page is requested, the viewer's browser will download and assemble the web page according to the HTML instructions for the page, including commands from other languages that may be set in the HTML code, such as JavaScript or Ajax, and any images or rich media content that may be requested and loaded from the same server or other content servers. JavaScript is a scripting language that relies on a run-time environment, such as a browser application and can be used to write functions that are embedded or included in HTML pages and interact with the document object model of the page and can detect user keystrokes and other user actions. AJAX (an acronym for “Asynchronous JavaScript and XML”) is a web development technology that is used to implement web applications that communicate with a server in the background without interfering with the current state of the page.
This process has limitations due to the fact that the user's available browser window varies based on the display area and resolution settings of the user's personal computer or other communications device and that the browser may be expanded or reduced to any size or dimensions that the user dictates at any time. Web pages delivered to this varying environment generally have a set size and dimensions that are larger than the size and dimensions of the viewer's browser window displayed on a personal computer or other communications devices. As such, the browser window area often does not correspond in size with the web page area, and the user may have to scroll left or right or up or down to view all of the areas of the page. Also, the nature of HTTP protocol dictates that the code must be completely interpreted by the browser before it can display the page. Because of these limitations, when a web page is requested by a user, the entire web page, no matter how big, must be loaded and rendered by the browser, even if that web page extends far beyond the dimensions of the individual viewer's available browser dimensions and scrolling position. This is extremely inefficient in bandwidth and CPU utilization, and also affects the potential accuracy of the data pertaining to actual perception of delivered content used for various purposes, including, but not limited to, proper accounting of advertising content usage and placement charges and the measurement and reporting of meta data related to the content delivered.
Advertising and content delivery for traditional media to date has been made based on the fact that all of the content is available to the viewer at any given time. When a newspaper page is printed or a radio show or television show is broadcast, all of the content is delivered and available to the viewer. Even with traditional print media, although a viewer may fold a page and not see portions of it, the entire page is available to view. All broadcasting and reporting measurements are based on this given fact. With the advent of the Internet, for the first time a medium was created where significant portions of the content are actually not available to the viewer unless the viewer takes some sort of action to get to the content. This action in most cases is the scrolling of the page via the browser mechanism or expanding the browser area to make more of the web page available.
Pay Per View, or Cost Per Thousand Views (CPM) billing and broadcasting measurements related to the Internet follow the assumption that the content is always available to the viewer when the viewer is on the requested page. The loading of a web page does not guarantee all of its content will be in view or available to a viewer for interpretation or influence. Nevertheless, content usage and placement fees are usually charged even for content that a viewer may actually never have viewed based on the rationale that because the entire web page can be loaded and viewed if the user takes appropriate action that the entire page, all of its content is “available” to the viewer. This is not an accurate assessment of whether content was actually perceived by a viewer.